Capturing data in advance to improve border protection
Electronic Advance Data (EAD) is an essential part of sending items overseas, where your item requires a customs declaration to be completed. It gives the customs officials in the destination country all the information they need to complete their inspections.
EAD applies to any item requiring a customs form to be completed. This means all articles and express letters sent to the destination countries above will need EAD.
To improve border control and security, we need to digitally capture and transmit information for your items to the applicable destination countries. This data includes the sender’s and receiver’s details and article contents, and is sent in advance to the customs officials in the destination country prior to the item physically arriving at the border.
Don't miss this important step
If customs data has not been transmitted in advance to a country that requires EAD, your items may be refused entry.
Which countries require EAD?
From January 2021, EAD is required for border clearance purposes for items sent to the below countries:
- American Samoa (U.S. Samoa)1
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Croatia
- Republic of Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Federated States of Micronesia1
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guam1
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland1
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Marshall Islands1
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Northern Mariana Island (Saipan)1
- Norway1
- Palau (Caroline Island)1
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico1
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Switzerland1
- Sweden
- Thailand
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- US Virgin Islands1
- Vanuatu
What you need to do
We encourage you to complete the online customs form before heading in-store to save time.
If you’re only sending 1-2 items, you have two online options:
- If you know the weight of your item, use MyPost to fill out your customs declaration, print and pay for your postage label online, then lodge your article at your local Post Office or via a Street Posting Box, or
- Use our online customs form and provide the required information to generate a reference ID which you can bring to your local Post Office. This form is ideal if you don’t know the weight of your item, and/or you want to print the customs label and pay in-store.
You can print the customs form yourself or have it printed in store when you’re ready to send.
Frequently asked questions
1 On 1 July 2021 these countries commenced collection of EAD information for border clearance purposes.
